Tails from the slums: Rufus Shinra's day off
by Maria-smith7
Summary: A young Rufus takes the day off to go visit Reno and Rude in the slums. Where Rufus goes trouble is always around the corner. Occurs a few years after 'Tails from the slums: the story of Reno and Rude' but reading it is not necessary to understand this story.


It was Rufus' first day back home and he was already bored out of his mind. The 15 year-old had just spent the last 2 1/2 years in Junon Harbour studying and learning the fundamentals of Shinra's Junon branch. His father's plan is to have him working as a full executive at the Junon branch in another year or two and then full time vice-president in an additional two to three years tops. It is not that he disagrees with his father's carrier aspirations for his only son, he was just getting sick of the same old day to day routine and wanted to do something different for just one day.

He arrived in Midgar last night for a five day break from but it wasn't a real vacation. At first he was excited about the thought of a little bit of time off but then he realized his dad expected him to be confined to the Shinra building all day doing the same three things; paperwork, shadowing his father around, and attending meetings. Anticipating that this 'break' was going to be just another week of work he realized a few months ago that if he was going to take a real day off he would have to plan one without his father's permission.

Having lived most of his life in Midgar he knew everything the upper plate had to offer and none of it interested him. He knew very few people his own age and there was no one in Shinra building he wanted to call upon to do something with. Knowing he was coming back to this dark city after being gone for so long there were two people around his own age he was hoping to see but they lived somewhere Rufus has never travelled before; the slums. It's not that Rufus was afraid to travel down to the pits of Midgar, in fact he was kind of looking forward to it, he just never had a reason to go down there. For the president's son a trip to the slums would make him a target for every lowlife who wanted to make a quick buck not to mention the many people who just hated Shinra. So he knew if he was going to go visit the slums he would have to do it incognito which meant completely changing his look and anything else that would make him look like a rich kid from the top plate.

In order to avoid standing out down there he decided to dress as simple as possible so he decided to wear a plain black T-shirt and an old pair of baggie jeans. He also didn't shower for the last two days so his hair was a little greasy and he didn't smell very clean. He wasn't willing to roll around in dirt or dye his blond hair so he just put on a black baseball cap to try to cover it a little. Not that he was the only guy with blond hair but it did make him stand out more compared to someone with dark hair. He knew going down to the slums he was going to need protection but couldn't bring his favorite shotgun so he opted for his lucky revolver and a few grenades. Based on past experiences he knew there was a good chance he was going to need them.

This day off was a long time in the making, he knew he was only going to get one day away without getting into too much trouble, not that he really cared, but mostly to avoid his father sounding the alarms on his absence and putting all of Midgar in a state of emergency. He had arranged a few months ago from Junon to have his friends meet him at the sector 4 train station. In order to contact his friends he had arranged for a Shinra employee he trusted to hand deliver a message to the youths since they didn't have PHS' or a functional postal service in the slums. Hopefully they received the message and will be waiting at the specified location because he would have no way of finding them otherwise.

Rufus looked at himself in the mirror admiring the plain looking boy staring back at him. He was happy with his apparel, he looked more like a gangster or thug than any Shinra employee or the president's son. After admiring himself in the mirror Rufus grabs the gil on the table next to him and takes one last look around his room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He then exits his room to begin his day off.

Outside the sector 4 train station two boys stand next to a lamp post near the platform. The redhead leans on the lamppost looking half asleep with the other boy standing next to him. There were people around them, mostly business looking people, some hurrying by on their way to work while others waited patiently for the train. Many of them were holding take-out coffee cups while others held briefcases or both.

"I don't know why he had us meet him this early," the redhead says with a yawn. It was 9:30 in the morning and it was the first time in years he had to wake up before noon. The 14 year-old normally wouldn't wake up this early for just anyone but he owed Rufus for his help a few years ago and he figured a day with him in the slums was going to be entertaining. He hadn't seen Rufus since that day when he helped Rude and him out of the Shinra building. As far as he knew after that day Rufus was shipped off far away to some private school or something. The letter they received last month was the first time they heard from him since.

"I wonder what he wants to do in the slums?" Rude asks his friend looking around. He figured Rufus would be dressed in more normal wear compared to his regular custom made clothing.

"Probably wants to get out of that stuffy building and have some fun. I know if I was stuck in that building all day I would go nuts." Reno would hate to be one of those pencil pushers jammed in an office day in and day out, he would rather be dead.

"You know exactly how I feel Reno," came a voice from behind them. They two slum boys turn around to see Rufus dressed in simple street clothes and a black baseball cap.

"About time," says Reno, "so where do you want to go first?" he asks the young blond.

"We should get out of here before some Shinra employee on his way work recognizes me," Rufus says quietly as he looks around at the many people waiting for the train. The three youths turn and head towards the lower Midgar plate otherwise known as the slums.

The slums were exactly what Rufus had expected from listing to the descriptions from people he worked with. It was dark, dirty and most of the people he saw looked tired and worn out. Many of the women he noticed dressed like hookers and many of the guys had a shady look to them like they were gangsters or drug dealers.

When the three boys arrived in the sector 4 slums it was a little before noon and they were starting to get hungry. "Where's a good place to eat around here?" Rufus asks hoping the slums had a decent restaurant that served real food. He was little nervous about eating something that might be scraped off the side of the street but figured he would leave it up to the two locals to pick a decent place.

"There's a decent diner in sector 6," Rude suggests, "it's probably some of the best food you will find down here but that's not saying much."

The three make their way to the Diner in the Wall Market and walk in to find the place a little busy since the lunch rush was just beginning. There were no tables, only a long counter and some stools. They found three stools next to each other and sat down. 'Well at least you can see the food being cook from here' Rufus thinks to himself. He had low expectations for this meal so the fact that the plates were fairly clean and the diner smelled like food wasn't as bad as he expected.

"I don't recommend the Sushi platter," Rude advises the blond, "it's not that fresh…"

"What do you recommend?" Rufus asks his friends. There was no menu and he couldn't make out the scribbles on the chalkboard hanging on the wall. He looked around at the food on the plates of the people surrounding him and couldn't make out exactly what it was. Most of the people in the Diner were men who looked like blue collar workers on their lunch break. They were all quietly eating looking down at their food oblivious to everything around them. In the corner of the Diner were two older looking women smoking cigarettes and dressed like prostitutes in short skirts and low-cut tops. They weren't eating just quietly talking to each other over drinks.

"Well the only options are Korean BBQ, the sushi and the special so there's not much choice," Reno raises his hand trying to get the server's attention, "and they never tell you what is in the special so you are probably safe with the BBQ." The server walks up to the three boys on the other side of the counter, "three beers and three Korean BBQ's," he tells the waitress. The waitress nods and walks away to get their drinks.

A few minutes later the waitress brings over the food and puts it down in front of the boys. Rufus picks up his fork and pokes the burnt piece of meat on his plate. 'Well at least it is cooked all the way whatever it is' he thinks to himself. At least being overcooked he doesn't have to worry about getting botulism or some other illness caused by undercooked mystery meat.

"What is Korean BBQ anyways?" Reno contemplates out loud while stuffing his face with the charred meat, "like is Korean a place, a type of meat or is it the way it's cook?" He doesn't know much about geography but at the same time he has never heard of a place called Korean. He had eaten Korean BBQ from this diner many times but never really thought about the name before.

"I think BBQ is the way it's cooked so that can't be why it's called Korean," Rude replies not really knowing the answer. He always figured the meat was chocobo but didn't really know for sure so he didn't mention it. Rufus didn't have an answer to the redhead's question so he remained silent slowly picking at his food. It wasn't bad if you washed it down with a beer and didn't chew it for very long.

After the three finished eating the waitress brings over the bill prompting Reno and Rude to reach into their pockets for their half. "It's on me," Rufus says taking a hand full of gil from his pocket and placing it on the counter. He was normally not the type of person to throw his money around and pay for others but he asked the two out today and knew they didn't have much money. Reno and Rude both nodded thanks and finished the last few sips of their drinks.

Rufus noticed one of the women at the other end of the diner stare at him as soon as he went to pay for the bill. Just as he spots her she walks over and sits down next to him, putting her hand gently on his should, "you want to party?" she whispers leaning in close to his ear.

Rufus frowns at her, "not with you," he replies shrugging his shoulder causing her to remove her hand. He shivered inwardly at the thought of the probably diseased ridden whore wanting to 'party' with him. She would have been good looking had she not looked so worn out and dirty. Rufus figured she was probably only in her late-twenties but looked older from the ravages of living a hard life in the slums. Her light blue eyes were glazed over and looked gray and soulless. You could tell she was probably high on drugs or coming down off of something by the size of her pupils and the fact her hands we shaking a bit. The whites of her eyes had a slight yellowish tinge and were bloodshot. Her blond hair was pulled up tight in a ponytail at the top of her head and looked greasy. After hearing Rufus' rejection she frowned at him and quietly left the Diner.

"Consider yourself lucky," Reno says leaning back in his seat to get a good look at Rufus who was sitting next to Rude, "some of them will make a big scene if you reject them like that. At least she didn't yell or try to hit you or something. I've had that happen a few times." Reno slams his empty beer glass on the counter. "Shall we go?" he asks his two friends. The three of them stand up and leave the diner.

It was early afternoon when they walked out of the diner into the busy wall market. "What should we do now?" Reno asks as they walked out of the diner. "We could go play pool or we could go to the bar and their always the honey bee?" Reno laughs at Rufus who frowns thinking about the whore who approached him in the diner.

"What else do they have in this wall market?" Rufus asks the redhead.

"Nothing much, there are a few shops, some inns, a gym…" Reno trails off realizing that Rufus is no longer paying attention to him and is gazing off into the distance. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"There's a guy over there watching us," he informs the two not taking his eyes off of the man. Reno and Rude look over to see a man standing by the item shop gazing at them. "Let's go," Rufus tells the others walking north of the Wall Market away from the strange man. The other two follow and after walking some distance Rude peeks back to see if the man is following them but notices that the man wasn't anywhere to be seen so he stops walking.

"I don't think he is following us," Rude explains to the others, "Should we go back? The only thing up this way is Don's place."

Rufus and the others were about to start walking back when a dark shadow comes out of the ally next to them and grabs Rufus from behind holding a knife close to his throat. Reno and Rude recognize him as the man who was watching them outside the diner.

"That's the one Mike," says a female voice coming from the dark ally. The prostitute from inside the diner walks out from the ally with her arms crossed. "I know the little prick has a bunch of gill on him."

A look of anger crossed over Rufus face, "little prick?" he repeats. Suddenly he elbows the guy in the side causing the man to move the knife away from his neck. The blond then takes the guys arm and throws him over his shoulder in front of him. Still holding his arm he takes the man's hand and twists it back causing the man to yell in pain dropping the knife.

"Mike!" the girl yells as she turns to run away. Reno and Rude block her escape ensuring she has nowhere to run.

"Who do you work for?" Rufus asks standing over the man holding his wrist in an awkward position.

"Why do you want to know?" the man asks, trying not to scream in pain from his wrist being twisted back.

"Because I want to know what group I might be making enemies with if I decide to kill you." Rufus twists his wrist slightly causing the man to let out a scream. "So are you going to answer my question?"

"The zoloms," the man yells. Rufus turns to Reno and Rude with a confused look on his face not really sure what that means.

"It's a sector 3 gang," Rude clarifies to the blond who nods thanks.

"See it wasn't that hard," Rufus says to the man releasing his hand. Before the man could grab his wrist Rufus kicks the man in the back of the head knocking him unconscious. "So are you with these zoloms?" Rufus turns his attention to the woman.

"No, I work for Don Corneo," the girl replies not wanting to end up like Mike, "and if you touch me you are going to have to answer to him."

Rufus looked curious, "so what is this guy, your boyfriend or something?" He kicks the man lying unconscious on the ground.

"No," she says looking a little annoyed, "I scout out targets with money for him to mug and he provides protection when I need it. Are you going to knock me out too?"

"I don't think your boss would be too happy to hear that you are helping a rival gang obtain gil," Rufus says matter-of-factly, "shouldn't you be out making money for your boss instead?"

A wave of fear rushes over the girl's face, "you won't tell him, will you?" For the first time she actually looked afraid. "He will kill me if he finds out but it's the only way I can get protection from the bad johns, Corneo doesn't look after us…"

Rufus rolls his eyes not wanting to hear the girl's sob story. "I'm not going to make any promises," Rufus informs the woman bluntly before turning to Reno and Rude, "Lets get out of here, I need a drink," he says turning his back to the girl and walking away with Reno and Rude trailing. Behind them the girl kneels down besides the unconscious man shaking him a few times trying to wake him. When he doesn't respond she stands up and kicks him then turns and walks north towards Don Corneo's mansion.

"So where do you want to go drink?" Reno asks as they walk south towards the entrance of the wall market.

"Where do you normally go?" Rufus inquires.

"Well around here we would go to the Wall Market Pub," Rude answers, "but sometimes the Turks go there in the evenings."

"It's probably best if I avoid anything Shinra today," Rufus explains, "where can we find a bar that is least likely to be visited by a Turk?"

"Well there is a bar in sector 1 that is owned by the local gang," Reno suggests, "and they have pool tables."

"Lead the way." Rufus follows Reno and Rude out of the Wall Market towards sector 1.

Sector 1 was like every other sector in the slums, full of makeshift structures and various essential businesses including bars, inns and eateries. The three youths walk up to the busiest bar in the sector full of people standing outside drinking and talking loudly. On top of the bar is a sign with the words 'The Behemoths' written crudely in red paint. Well, Rufus hoped it was paint but given the number of the people standing outside wearing more leather and spikes then should be allowed he wouldn't be surprise if the sign was written in blood.

When they walked into the bar it wasn't as bad as Rufus anticipated taking into consideration the character of people outside. The majority of the people in the bar were obviously the local gang members full of piercings and tattoos but they were confined to one big group in the corner of the room occupying three pool tables. The rest of the bar looked more like typical slum folk playing pool or drinking at the bar.

Reno and Rude went to go set up the last available pool table while Rufus walked over to the bar to get the first round of drinks. Rufus couldn't help but notice one of the gang members eyeing him. Considering the guy had the most amount of leather, piercings and the spikiest red hair out of the whole group he assumed the guy was the leader or at least had some kind of command over the rest. Rufus decided to just ignore the guy's threatening glare so he could enjoy his drink and play some pool.

Four beer and one game of pool later it was easier for Rufus to ignore the loud group in the corner. Rude lost to Rufus on the first game so it was Reno's turn to play against him. Rufus couldn't help but notice how much louder and lively Reno became the more he drank. The redhead would make crude jokes mostly towards Rude who would either ignore him or shake his head. If a joke was particularly obscene Reno would follow it with "Just joking Rude" and pat hia friend on the back. Rude on the other had become quieter with each drink and Rufus couldn't help but wonder if it was from the alcohol or from Reno growing increasingly annoying.

Rufus was just about to suggest another round of drinks to Rude, as it was his turn to buy, when the door opens and two girls walk in. He could tell they weren't part of the local gang but they were from the slums. They reminded him of the two girls from the diner earlier but younger and not as worn looking. One girl had short light brown hair and was wearing a short jean skirt with a pink tank top. The other girl had jet back hair and dark tanned skin, she was wearing a pair of skimpy pink shorts and a black tank top. The two girls stopped at the door and scanned the room before locking eyes on Rufus' small group. The girl with the long hair said something to the other girl and walked towards their pool table.

"Hey!" the tanned girl says to Rude as she walks up to their table. Reno looks up from taking his shot as soon as he noticed the two girls walking by.

"Hey Sam," Rude says to the girl. Then he turns to Rufus, "this is Sam, she was my next-door neighbour growing up until her family moved to sector 6," he explains. "Who's your friend?" He asks turning his attention back to Sam.

Before she could answer she was interrupted by the redhead, "Hey ya Sam!" Reno yells at the girl starting to sound a little drunk.

"Hey ya Reno!" Sam replies jokingly imitating the redhead. She turns her attention back to Rude, "this is my friend Kim, she works with me." Sam motions to her friend who smiles at the two boys. "Who is your friend?" She asks looking at Rufus with a smile.

Rude went silent, he wasn't sure if Rufus wanted to use his real name. Rufus, noticing Rude's hesitation, decides to answer for him. "My name is John," he replies with the first common name he could think of.

"What are you doing in Sector 1?" Rude asks taking Sam's attention away from Rufus.

"Well we just finished up with two clients in the area and we wanted to kill some time before heading back to Sector 6," Sam explains.

"Yeah," Kim continues, "our boss usually picks his bride around this time and we want to avoid getting picked so we figured we would hide out here for a little bit."

"Bride?" Rufus asks a little confused. He was familiar with a lot of slang terminology but he never heard of bride before. He was pretty sure the two girls were prostitutes but even for that profession the word bride is never used, as far as he knew anyways.

"Our boss is Don Corneo and every night he picks one of us to be his 'bride' for the night," Kim explains with a disgusting look on her face.

"It sucks because we don't get any money for it and he keeps us there for the whole night!" Sam says growing more agitated, "plus he's so gross and fat!" She shivers at the thought, "it's disgusting!"

"If it's wasn't for the fact that he is the best paying pimp in the slums we wouldn't work for him," Kim says ranting, "but unless you can get a job at the honey bee this is the next best thing."

After that rant Rufus was sure they were prostitutes and he was wishing he hadn't asked them about the whole bride thing, it obvious hit a nerve. He had only been down in the slums for less than 24 hours and could see that the people down here had very limited options for employment opportunities. It was a very depressing place for women when the best thing you can hope for is to get a job at the honey bee inn.

"That sucks Sam," Rude says not really showing much sympathy for the two girls, "It's my turn to buy the rounds, let me get you two a drink." He walks over to the bar to order drinks for everyone. This was the most Rude had said since they entered the bar.

"Rufus it's your turn," Reno calls out to the blond from the other side of the pool table. Rufus figured the redhead didn't hear to the conversation he had with the girls about his name being John or he did and had already forgotten.

"Rufus?" Sam asks, "I though your name was John?"

"Yeah well Rufus is my last name," the blond explains nonchalantly, "it's what everyone calls me because John is so common." He walks over towards the redhead who was leaning on his pool sick giving Rufus a confused look. As Rufus takes his shot Rude walks back towards the group balancing the five mugs of beer.

"Thanks," everyone says to Rude as they grab their beer.

Rufus misses so Reno puts down his drink to take his shot knocking his ball in the pocket. Rufus was surprised that Reno was still playing so well considering he was talking and walking like he was two sheets to the wind. He walks around the table attentively looking for his next shot but not without stopping to take a few more gulps of his beer. Reno had two solid balls left to land and Rufus only had the one striped ball.

"Watch this," Reno tells the girls who were sitting down near the pool table talking to each other, they look over to watch Reno. Reno hits the cue ball knocking one of his balls sending it into the corner pocket, it then spins back and hits his second ball sending it into the side pocket. The girls clap at the successful double shot. Reno then hits the cue ball towards the eight ball which was sitting in front of a corner pocket landing it and winning the game.

"Nice game," Rufus tells the redhead. He hands his cue stick to Rude who walks over to rack the balls.

Reno walks over to his drink and chugs it down. "It's my turn to buy," he says slamming his empty glass on the table. "I'm going to get a round of shots for everyone!" He walks over to the bar.

Rufus looks around and notices that all their drinks were more than half full, including his own. He looks over to Rude to say something but notices him looking towards the bar with a worried look on his face. Rufus looks behind him to see Reno at the bar taking to some young girl with long blond hair dressed in tight leather pants and a leather top. Rufus quickly looks over to the other side of the bar and was relieved to see that none of the gang members have noticed Reno talking to one of their own. He looks back to Reno to find the redhead with his arm around the girl whispering something in her ear. She giggles and playfully nudges him away causing him to pull her closer.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Rude says to Rufus. Reno walks back towards them with a tray full of shots balanced on one hand and his free arm around the girl.

"This is Roxy," Reno tells the group. She was around their age and didn't really look like the other gang members except for the leather, a small tattoo on her arm, and a few piercings in her ears. Roxy waives hello to the group and whispers something in Reno's ear causing him to smile and slap her on the ass. She then giggles and playfully pushes the redhead.

"Reno…"Rude says to his friend but before he could finish his sentence a huge tattoo covered man with a big green mohawk walks into the bar along with two other men covered in tattoos and piercings. They walked straight towards the group of gang members in the back of the bar without noticing their small group in the corner. The guy with the green mohawk walks over and starts talking to the guy with the red spiky hair who points over towards them. The guy with the green Mohawk then gazes over at them and glares furiously. "Uh oh…" Rude utters seeing what is going on behind Reno, "Reno look behind you…"

"What's wrong Rude?" Reno asks not paying attention to what Rude said. He lays down the tray of shots picking up a shot glass and handing one to Roxy. He picks one up for himself and downs it in one gulp but before he could lay the shot glass down he was picked up and thrown a few feet across the room hitting his side against the wall then falling to the ground. He looks up to see a big guy with a green mohawk standing over him. "Why did you do that for?" he ask the man rubbing his head.

"What are you doing with my sister?!" The man yells in Reno's face. He lifts Reno up by the collar of his shirt and slams his head and back against the wall.

"Enough!" Rufus yells at the man getting the man's attention and drops Reno causing him to fall on the ground.

The green haired man turns to Rufus and glares, "who are you?" he asks. He takes a few steps toward Rufus looking down trying to intimidate the blond.

"John," Rufus replies not fazed by the man's intimidation tactics, "why don't you leave my friend alone." By now the whole bar was standing around focusing on them with gang members outnumbering the three boys 7 to 1.

"No," the green haired man responds bluntly, "we are going to mess you guys up."

"How about a fair fight," Rufus proposes, "just you and me."

"Why would I fight fair?" the man asks, "you're on my turf."

Rufus looks around and as far as he could tell none of the gang members had any weapons or guns on their person. He knew his revolver and two grenades were not going to be enough given the size of the group but he might be able to use the gun to gain a little leverage. He slightly pulls up his shirt to show the man the gun stuffed in his belt, "How about a little wager then?" Rufus offers. He knew they were horribly outnumbered and he had to think of something to try to get out of this situation. "If you win it will be worth your while." Rufus figured the thought of possibly being shot might be enough to persuade this guy to accept his offer.

"What?" the man asks noticing the gun sticking out of his pants.

"It's a game for someone dangerous like you and the stakes are high," Rufus explains, "if you win you have to let my friends go and you can have this." Rufus pulls 3000 gil out of his pocket and lays it on the table next to him. The man stares fixated on the money no longer paying attention to Rufus. It's not very often someone in the slums is able to see a pile of money like that in one place. "But if I win you have to agree in front of all your buddies here that we get control of your gang and this bar."

The man, hearing the last few words Rufus said, takes his attention away from the money and focuses on the blond. "What are the stakes?" he asks. He was tempted to do anything to get his hands on that money.

"It's a game of life and death," Rufus explains, "so to win one of us has to die."

"So let me get this straight," the man struggles trying to understand the deal, "so if you win you get my bar and if I win you get to leave but I can keep the money?"

"Well if you win I won't be leaving because I'll be dead, remember it's a game of life and death," Rufus clarifies realizing this guy was an idiot, "but if you win you have to let my friends go."

"What's the game?" the man asks. Rufus motions for the two to sit at the table he put the money on.

Rufus sits on one side of the table with Reno, Rude and the two girls standing behind him. The green haired man sits on the other side of the table with his whole gang standing behind him. "Have you ever heard of Midgar roulette?" Rufus asks taking out his revolver and removing all six bullets. He lays the bullets on the table and then takes one bullet holding it up to show the man. Without taking his eyes off the man he puts the lone bullet in the cylinder of the empty revolver and spins the chamber closing it as soon as it stops spinning. "Are we going to play?" he asks and the man nods yes glaring at Rufus. With his eyes still fixated on the man Rufus puts the revolver to his temple and slowly pulls the trigger only to hear a click. He can hear his friends behind him breathe a sigh of relief.

Rufus lays the revolver on the table and pushes it over to the man who picks it up. Rufus could see a bead of sweat starting to build on the man's forehead. The guy takes a deep breath and puts the revolver up to his temple and quickly pulls the trigger closing his eyes. He lets out a big sigh when he hears the click. He pushes the gun back over to the blond. Rufus slowly picks up the revolver and put the gun to his temple, his cold eyes showing no emotion as they stare through the man. Rufus could tell he was starting to unnerve the man. He pulls the trigger only to hear the click. He pushes the gun back over to the man who picks up the gun with his hands starting to shake.

Rufus could see a bead of sweat run down the side of his face. He was about to put the gun to his temple but he frowns pointing the gun at Rufus. A look of anger appears on the man's face, "this is bullshit!" he yells at the blond. "How about I just take the money and shoot you right now."

Rufus didn't react to the man's threat. He just continued to sit in his seat with his hands under the table looking calmly at the man who had a gun pointed at his head. "That's not a good idea," Rufus says with a smirk.

"Why?" the guy asks looking uneasy. There was something about Rufus smirk that worried him. He noticed Rufus hands under the table. "Let me see your hands," the man demands, the gun starting to shake a bit.

Rufus' hands slowly rise above the table. In one hand was a grenade with his fingers clasped over the trigger and in the hand was the grenade's pin clearly visible. "Because if you shoot me, we all die," he explains with a malicious smile. The gang members behind the man gasps in fear noticing the grenade and pin.

Realizing he's cornered, the man's hand starts to shake more and Rufus could tell his mind was racing trying to think of his next move. Suddenly the man drops the gun on the table and gets up grabbing the money before running out of the bar as fast as he could. Rufus put the pin back in the grenade and release the handle safely. The other gang members gawk at the blond with a dumbfounded expression on their faces not exactly sure what to do. "I guess he forfeits," Rufus tells the group calmly. He could hear Reno and Rude let out a big sigh of relief behind him. The blond picks up his revolver and loads the remaining five bullets.

It was oddly quiet in the bar with the gang members still in some form of shock. "We should get going," Sam anxiously tells Rude breaking the silence. They sounded a little shocked by the near death experience. Before Rude could answer the two girls exit the bar.

"This is awesome," Reno says slapping Rufus on the back, "you won us a bar!"

"Who says we are going to let you take over our bar?" the spikey red-haired gang member protests.

"You don't think I won it fairly?" Rufus asks shooting the man a malicious grin.

The man pauses for a moment matching Rufus gaze. When he realizes that Rufus was not going to back down he puts his hands up in defence and smiles, "any guy as crazy as you is perfect for the behemoths. I can't say I'm all that sad about the situation Jeff was a bit of a jerk but we thought he was a tough leader so we tolerated him. He knew he wasn't as well liked as our last boss so that probably motivated him to take the money and run." After that the tension in the bar subsides and everyone goes back to drinking and talking. The guy with the spiky red hair stays near Rufus and the others. "Let me get you guys a round of drinks," he says waiving over to a female gang member who brings over a full try of beverages. Reno, Rude and Roxy all grab a drink and start talking amongst themselves. "What are you anyways?" the redhead asks Rufus, "some rich kid from the plate?"

"No, I'm just some gambler from out of town," was the only excuse he could think of for why he would have that kind of money, "I'm from the slums of Junon."

"My names Adarous," the man tells Rufus, "but everyone calls me Spike." Before Rufus could ask another question the door to the bar opens and a boy walks in. He looked like he was in his mid to late teens and was wearing jeans and a ripped up jean jacket with patches. He stands by the door rapidly looking around the bar for someone. "What do you want?" Spike ask as he if knew the boy.

"I'm just here to get Don's girls," the young man replies looking at Spike, "I was told they walked in here after they finished with a client."

"They're not here," Spike informs him, "now get out, you know you're not welcomed in this bar."

The boy, ignoring Spike, looks around the bar again and stops at Rude. "Hey you," he yells at Rude getting his attention, "I know you are friends with Kim, where is she? Her boss wants her."

Before Rude could say anything Reno steps in the young man's line of sight blocking his view of Rude, "Didn't you hear Spike?" the redhead asks him, "You're not welcome here, get out." Rufus walks up besides Reno standing next to him with his arms crossed.

"Who are you?" the youth asks eyeing Rufus.

"I'm John, I own this place," he replies bluntly.

"Well, I'm not leaving until you tell me where the girls are," the man pulls out a gun and points it a Rufus and then Reno. His hands were a little shaky like this was his first time holding a gun and he had a nervous look in his eyes. "Now tell me where the girls are and no one gets hurt."

Rufus smirks at the man not appearing threated by the gun, "you really think pulling a gun out is a good idea in a room where you're outnumbered?" he asks.

"I don't give a shit if it's a good idea or not!" the young man yells starting to sound frustrated, "I have to get those girls to my boss and I don't care who I have to go through to get some answers!" His nervousness was visible.

"Listen here Rodney," Spike says from behind the boy grabbing his shoulder in an effort to defuse the situation. The young man turns around to face Spike, as soon as he turns his gun fires hitting the side of Spike's torso. The force of the bullet causes Spike to fall down grabbing his side. The guy drops the gun realizing he just shot a gang member inside his own bar. All of the other gang members' rush towards Rodney enraged.

"I'm sorry!" Rodney yells covering his face with his hands trying to protect himself from the crowd, "I didn't mean to do that! It was an accident!"

A few of the female gang members rush over to help Spike who is groaning in pain on the floor. The other gang members hold Rodney up so he can't flee. They all look at Rufus who looks over at Spike on the floor. "Luckily the shot is a through and through, get him to someone who has some cure materia," he tells the girls next to Spike. They nod and help Spike up out of the bar. Rufus turns to Rodney and glares at him.

"I'm so sorry!" Rodney says rambling sounding like he was about to cry, "the boss threatened to kill me if I didn't bring the girls to him, he told me to do whatever is necessary!"

Rufus shakes his head, "unfortunately for you Spike is well liked around here and you are going to pay for this…" Rufus stops and thinks. Throughout this whole day he has been hearing about Corneo and he was not liking what he was hearing. 'All this negative stuff I am hearing about this Don Corneo is really stating piss me off,' he thinks to himself. He was not happy with the way Corneo runs his business and he really wanted to teach him a lesson. An evil grin appears on the blonds face as a plan starts to form. This kid was stupid for running into a gang bar with a gun but he shouldn't have to die for Corneo. As far as Rufus was concerned it was just as much Corneo's fault for sending a rookie without any back up. He had to find a way to take the gang's attention away from Rodney and make Corneo the focus of their anger.

Rufus turns to look at his fellow gang members standing behind Rodney holding him by the shirt, "Who does this Cornor think he is sending his men on our turf! Who's up for heading to the wall market and teaching this Don Corneo a lesson?" The whole group roared in excitement. Rufus pauses waiting for the crowd to stop cheering before he continues, "So what do we do with little Rodney here?"

"Kill him!" yells someone from the back of the crowd.

"Hmm," Rufus thinks out loud, "I think we should hold on to him for a little bit, you never know when we might need someone who has knowledge of the enemy's headquarters." Rufus leans in next to the young man's ear, "if you help maybe I'll let you live." He kind felt for the boy, Rufus knew he was just an inexperienced kid trying to impress his boss.

"Does anyone have any weapons?" Rufus asks the crowed. One of the gang members closest to the bar walks over and reaches behind it. He must have pressed a switch because Rufus heard a click and three large wood panels on the front of the bar cracks open to reveal several secret compartments. He kneels down opening a panel to reveal multiple hand guns, grenades, two shotguns along with bullets and cartridges, Rufus smiles wickedly.

It was 11pm and Peter was beginning to get anxious, Corneo wanted his girls here an hour ago and so far only one of the three women he requested has shown up. Peter knew if his boss didn't have three to choose from he was a dead man. Rodney was sent to get two of his favourite girls and he wasn't back yet but Peter knew if Rodney didn't show up soon he was the one who was going to have to endure Corneo's wrath. The last guy to piss the boss off was sent down to the sewer to 'feed' his pet Aps and the last thing Peter wanted to do was risk joining him.

"Is Rodney back yet?" Tony asks walking outside the front of the mansion where Peter was keeping watch, "the others are starting to worry and just a head's up, the boss is looking for you."

"Shit," Peter says to himself cringing.

"Hey, is that Rodney?" Tony asks gesturing down the street. Peter looks to see Rodney walking a few feet ahead of two dark figures who were still too far away to identify, "the kid must have found the girls after all." Suddenly Rodney and the two figures stop in their tracks. Tony takes two steps towards Rodney to see what was wrong but suddenly Peter hears a faint noise followed by Tony falling to the ground dead in his tracks. Before Peter can react another faint noise if heard and he falls to the ground dead.

The two men behind Rodney push him forward towards the two bodies stopping when they reach them. One of the men watched the entrance holding a gun pointed at the front door while the other man signals to the sniper above and whistles loudly. Hearing the whistle a half-dozen men including Rufus walks out of the shadows towards the entrance.

"How many more men should be left inside?" Rufus asks Rodney.

"Four to eight depending," Rodney replies, "plus Corneo and any girls that might be inside."

"So we are going to do this as planned," Rufus says to the group pulling out his revolver. They storm the mansion progressing into the front lobby. Rufus could hear gunshots as two of the gang members run into the first floor back room while the rest of them run up the stairs to the second floor. Hearing the commotion another one of Corneo's men runs out of the room at the top of the stairs coming face to face with Rufus. The man raises his hands up in the air surrendering with Rufus' pointing the gun at his head. "Take this guy and Rodney down to the basement," Rufus orders two of the gang members leaving only him and another gang member. The two walk cautiously towards the door the man came out of. Rufus quickly peeks inside unable to see anyone. He signals to the other man and with their gun drawn they enter a room full of empty bottles and chairs. As they entered Corneo's lounge Rufus could hear a loud gunshot with the bullet just missing his subordinate. Rufus returns the shot shooting a man standing in the right corner of the room holding a gun. Rufus then turns to his left aiming his gun at the man hiding behind a TV.

Rufus' associate aims his gun at another man hiding underneath a poker table. "Get up!" Rufus yells at the two men prompting them to withdraw from their hiding places with their hands up.

"Listen to me and you might get out of this alive," Rufus tells the hostages. Rufus was about to turn to his associate to say something when one of the hostages reaches into his pocket for a weapon but before the crony could draw it the window behind him shatters startling the two hostages. Reno, Rude and three more gang members swing through the window with Reno landing on the hostage who was reaching for his weapon.

"Don't even think about it," Reno whispers seeing the knife in the man's hand. He stands up on the guy's wrist prying the knife out of his hand and brushes himself off. "Well that was fun," Reno tells the group, "where is Corneo?"

"Haven't found him yet," Rufus tells the redhead. He looks at the three remaining gang members, "take these three guys down to the basement with the others." They nod and take the hostages out of the room. "Lets find Corneo," he tells his friends and they leave the room turning right down the walkway.

The next door they come across was in the middle of the walkway and looked more extravagant than the rest, Rufus pushes on the door but it didn't budge. Rufus looks at Rude who despite being a year younger was taller and more muscular than the blond, Rude kicks the door open with little effort. When they enter the room they come face to face with a man holding a gun pointing it at Rufus' head only to be repaid with Reno and Rude each pointing a gun back at him. Realizing he is outnumber the man drops his gun surrounding with his hands up and quickly exits the room.

Reno looks around the tacky office, "He has to be in here somewhere," the redhead says walking around the room. Reno walks up to a privacy screen located in the top right corner of the room, "over here!" he calls out to the others who follow him into the back room hidden behind the screen. Inside was Don Cornier hiding behind his bed with a half-naked girl standing in the corner. "Get out of here!" Reno orders the girl who obeys leaving the room. Now it was just Rufus, Reno, Rude and Cornier alone in the bedroom.

"Get up Corneo," Rufus tells the sector 6 kingpin.

Corneo stands up from behind the bed looking terrified. He studies the three boys, "do I know you?" he asks Rufus focusing on the blond.

"Sort of," Rufus says with a grin, "I must say Corneo I am very disappointed with how you are running things down here."

"Your Shinra's boy" Corneo says recognizing the blond.

Rufus continues with his speech ignoring Corneo's dim-witted look. "You are paid a lot of money by my father to monitor the slums and report information to Shinra, but what I see is a leader who can't even control his own organization or run an effective business. How can you provide Shinra with accurate intel when you don't even know what's happening within your own organization? Not to mention your security is substandard considering how easy it was for us the infiltrate this place…"

"I…" Corneo was just about to talk before being cut off by Rufus.

"Did you know that your own girls are working with enemy gangs helping THEM make money instead of making money for you?" Rufus asks Corneo not really caring enough to listen for an answer, "and this whole bride thing," he continues, "why would you make one of your own girls spend the night with you when they could be out making money for you instead? It's counterproductive…" He shakes his head at the older man. Rufus could see that Corneo was trying to think of a response but continues before man could say anything, "if you really need a girl for the night you should at least pick a girl that don't work for you then you can call it 'scouting' for new talent and your other girls are free to make you money. If you're going to be a pimp Corneo you need to realize that these girls are your bread and butter so you have to do a better job at keeping them inline."

"Rufus you are right," Corneo says gobbling at his feet, "please don't tell your father I will do anything you say. I don't want to get cut off!"

"Here's what I'm going to do Corneo," Rufus responds, "I won't tell my father about how poorly you do things down here and I will spare your life this time, but you have to do something for me." This was Rufus first time face to face with Don Corneo and now he understood why he always heard bad things about this guy from the Turks and others who were stuck working with him. Being around the sleazy man was making him sick and Rufus told himself that as soon as he becomes president Corneo will be first on the chopping block.

"I want you to give me $4000 and I want you to ensure that the behemoth's gang, who assisted me today have a free pass in sector 6 and make sure your men understand that they are untouchable. Also, if any of them want to job working for your organization," Rufus demanded, "you must give them a job and treat them with respect. I'm the first one to admit that it's effective to rule with fear but your employees are also your protection so you want to treat them well so they will be willing to risk their lives for you in the future."

"Yes," Corneo answers shaking his head vigorously, "whatever you say." Corneo goes over to a chest besides his bed and pulls out a sack of gill, "Here take it all!" he tells the three. Rufus picks the gill up and walks towards the exit followed by Reno and Rude.

"Oh and what's left of your men are in the basement," Reno mentions to Corneo before exiting the room.

As they enter the main walkway they see a gang members standing at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. Seeing Rufus the gang member gesture to his fellow members down below prompting them to come up and exit the mansion.

The whole group was riled up by the time they returned to the sector 1 bar. After giving Reno and Rude 1000 gil each, a gift for sticking with him the whole day, Rufus throws the bag containing 30351 gil on the table. Luckily for him Corneo didn't count the gil and gave him 10351 extra then requested.

"Any update on Spike?" Rufus asks the group.

"I think I'll live," Spike responds from behind Rufus who turns to smile at the spiky redhead. The rest of the crowd's eyes follow Spike as he walks towards the group a little slowly but with no visible injuries.

"I heard you guys had a little fun tonight," he asks Rufus.

"And for all our trouble raiding his mansion Corneo was kind enough to give us this," Rufus opens the bag to show everyone the pile of gil. "Plus for the headache he caused us today he has granted any Behemoth member a free pass in sector 6. As far as he is concerned you are untouchable." The crowd explodes in cheers.

Rufus realizing how late it was decides it is a good time to leave. "I think it's time for me to go," he tells the group.

"Go?" Spike asks, "I thought you are our new leader?"

"Nah, I got my own group I am committed to," he tells his spikey haired acquaintance, "and it seems to me like you should have been the leader from the beginning. Just make sure my friends here are treated well if they happened to come by sector 1 for some drinks," he motions to Reno and Rude.

"No problem," Spike replies, "we will treat them like one of our own."

The three boys say their goodbyes and exit the bar. "Well Rufus there's never a dull moment when you're around," Reno tells the blond as they leave sector 1 heading towards the train station. It was early hours in the morning and the streets were almost deserted with the odd person walking by. Rufus said goodbye to his two friends and was about to walk away when Reno called out to him, "Hey Rufus maybe next time we'll come visit you up top," the redhead laughs, "the people up there won't know what hit them."

"Sure, anytime," Rufus replies before turning and walking away.

As the two boys walk home Reno turns to Rude, "do you think Rufus' gun was rigged when he was playing Midgar Roulette or is he just that crazy?" he asks his friend.

Rude takes a second to think before answering, "I donno," he replies, "but either way he'll probably never tell you if you ask him."

THE END


End file.
